The Ministry of Science, Research and Economy in Austria invited a delegation of university officials from universities of science and technology in Taiwan to make a reciprocal visit to Austria to participate in the 2nd Austria Taiwan Vocational Higher Education Forum. The visit of a 19-member delegation from June 19 to 22, 2016 was organized by the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Austria and the Ministry of Science, Research and Economy in Austria. The delegation was led by Ms. Sophia Hsiang-Ping Ma, Director of the Department of Technological and Vocational Education in the Ministry of Education. Mr. Ovid Tzeng, chancellor of the university system of Taiwan and a former Minister of Education, was part of the delegation.

The 2nd Austria Taiwan Vocational Higher Education Forum was held on June 20 at the Austrian Exchange Service (OeAD). Its title was “New Era of Technological and Vocational Higher Education: Advancing Global Talent Cultivation and Higher Education Quality”. Officials from the Austrian Ministry of Science, Research and Economy, officials from Austrian universities of applied sciences, and CEOs of Austrian companies that work closely together with those universities attended and took part in discussions, sharing their valuable knowledge. Ms. Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih, Representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Austria, spoke at the opening and congratulated the universities for their efforts to foster partnerships between Austria and Taiwan.

The themes explored during this year’s forum were: how to ensure education quality; the importance of quality management, and innovation and knowledge transfer between universities of applied sciences; and the regional economy in Austria. The speakers from Taiwan focused on how to foster outstanding students and empower them to face the challenges of the Industry 4.0 environment. (“Industry 4.0” is a new term broadly referring to the current trend toward automation, cloud computing, and data exchange in manufacturing and technology.)

The forum concluded with a buffet lunch that gave the speakers and other participants an opportunity to further discuss their ideas. The participants are all looking forward to future cooperation and forums that will further strengthen and extend the technological and scientific output of both countries.

After the forum, the visiting delegation from Taiwan visited several Austrian universities of applied sciences to establish formal collaborations for student and teacher exchange programs. To date, universities of science and technology in Taiwan have signed 22 MOUs and agreements with the universities of applied science in Austria.